White Chocolate & Cherry Shortbread Cookies

My dad always says, "you'll know your husband really likes something if he asks you to make it again." This was one of those recipes. I first saw this recipe on Pinterest...I wanted to make it for Valentine's Day. Plus it gave me the chance to use my new food processor. It was slightly labor intensive...but that could just be because I'm not the greatest baker...and mine didn't come out like the picture either. But they were very good. I wondered exactly what shortbread was/is and I read that it's crumbly because of it's high fat content! ha! But they're a keeper for sure.

Here is the original recipe:

ingredients:

2/3 cup maraschino cherries, drained
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup cold butter, cut into cubes
12 ounces good quality white chocolate, finely chopped and divided
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 drops red food coloring (optional)
2 teaspoons shortening

directions:

Pulse cherries briefly in a food processor until finely chopped. You should have 1/2 cup of chopped cherries; spread on a double layer of paper towels to remove any excess liquid.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour and sugar. Add the butter and pulse until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add drained cherries and 4 ounces of the chopped chocolate. Pulse briefly to combine. Finally, add almond extract and, if desired, food coloring. Knead mixture until it comes together in a smooth ball.

Divide dough in half, and roll each half into a cylinder approximately 1 1/2-inches in diameter by 10-inches long. Roll up in parchment paper or plastic wrap, twisting ends to seal. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until firm.

Preheat oven to 325ºF. Using a sharp knife, slice chilled dough into 3/8-inch-thick slices. Arrange on a non-stick or parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until centers are set and bottoms are lightly golden. Cool for 1 minute on cookie sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

In a small saucepan or a microwave safe bowl, combine remaining 8 ounces white chocolate and the shortening. Cook and stir over low heat or microwave on low power, stirring often, until melted. Transfer melted chocolate into a squeeze bottle fitted with a small round tip and drizzle over tops of cookies. Alternatively, you can dip cookies in melted chocolate and roll edges in decorative sprinkles. Place cookies on waxed paper until set.

Here are the changes I made:

Oh, I should point out that from August 2011-May 2012 (hopefully) I didn't actually have an oven. I used a toaster oven to bake anything and everything. As a result the baking times and temperature in the original recipe have not been tried and tested. Also, I didn't add the melted chocolate at the end. Hubbs thought they were sweet enough without it, and requested I don't put it on--which is a rarity for him. (He loves ALL things sugar--especially white chocolate). Oh and I prefer mine thicker than the picture shows. I made them both ways (thin and thick) and the thicker ones have a better taste and texture.

Potato, Corn, and Leek Chowder

I've only made this once...maybe twice...why? I have no idea, because I loved it! I added some leftover shredded chicken to mine and it was sooo good! I left out the chives and I used dried parsley. Also, I'm fairly certain I used 2% milk and not whole milk. I can't remember for sure, but I just don't see myself buying whole milk for this. Oh, this is another Cooking Light recipe. Definitely a keeper.

• 2 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped leek (about 1 large)
• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
• 2 cups whole milk
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups fresh corn kernels (about 4 ears)
• 2 pounds cubed peeled Yukon gold or red potato
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Preparation

1. Heat butter and oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add leek, celery, and bell pepper; cook 4 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring frequently. Combine milk and flour in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Slowly add milk mixture to pan, stirring constantly. Stir in broth, corn, potato, salt, and freshly ground black pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until potato is tender. Stir in parsley and chives.

Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Cookies

Sounds good, right? Well, don't bother. I didn't love them. Although my blueberry loving husband did. I just don't think they're worth all that effort. Plus, the whole "I hate cheese" thing--yes that includes cream cheese. They just weren't anything special. I even tried to jazz up one batch my adding powder sugar and a touch of vanilla to the cream cheese before adding it to the cookie. Just wasn't great. Wouldn't make again unless someone requested them.

The recipe is adapted from this website: http://hotpolkadot.com/2011/08/18/its-12am-do-you-know-where-your-cookies-are/

Here it is:

Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Cookies
Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
3 tbsp lemon juice
2 eggs
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 cup flour
1 cup blueberries

1/2 pkg cream cheese, cut into 1 tsp cubes

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and position a rack in the center. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer cream together the butter and sugar until it's light and fluffy. Blend in the lemon zest, juice and eggs. Make sure to scrape off any bits of zest that stick to the mixer paddle.

In a separate bowl whisk together the baking soda, baking powder, salt and flour then mix it into the wet ingredients. Gently fold in the blueberries so as not to burst any. Refrigerate the dough for about 15 – 20 minutes to make it stiff enough to roll. For each cookie, roll 1 heaping tbsp of dough into a ball then flatten it slightly into a disc shape. Place a 1 tsp cream cheese cube into the center and form the dough around it creating a ball again. Bake them for about 10 - 14 minutes until the edges brown slightly. Transfer them to a cooling rack and enjoy!

Lasagna Rolls

Another Cooking Light recipe that I really enjoy--although at this point I'm the only one in my house that loves them. Everyone else just kind of likes them. The complaint is there's not too much flavor. But I disagree. The complaint came after I used skim-milk ricotta--and that's really the only thing that I can think that gave it a "blah" flavor--maybe. But I love the idea of these.

Here's the original recipe:

• Lasagna:
• 8 uncooked lasagna noodles
• 4 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms
• 1 (6-ounce) package fresh baby spinach
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup minced fresh basil, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• Sauce:
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 (7-ounce) bottle roasted red bell peppers, undrained
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Preparation

1. To prepare lasagna, cook noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and rinse under cold water. Drain.
2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, mushrooms, spinach, and 3 garlic cloves; sauté 5 minutes or until onion and mushrooms are tender. Remove from heat, and stir in cheeses, 2 tablespoons basil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper.
3. To prepare sauce, place vinegar and remaining ingredients in a blender; process until smooth.
4. Place cooked noodles on flat surface; spread 1/4 cup cheese mixture over each noodle. Roll up noodles, jelly-roll fashion, starting with short side. Place the rolls, seam sides down, in a shallow 2-quart microwave-safe dish. Pour 1/4 cup sauce over each roll, and cover with heavy-duty plastic wrap. Microwave at high 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons basil.

Here are the changes I make:

I add ground beef (next time I may add Sage Sausage for extra flavor). I now use whole milk ricotta, and one time I even cut up some red bell peppers (left over from another recipe) for added flavor. Oh, and to make my life easier I use store bought sauce. Very good and less time consuming. And of course no mushrooms.

Chicken Taquitos

I can't remember why I decided to make these, but I'm glad I did. I'm not a huge fan of sour cream--in fact I don't like it, at all. So anytime I recipe calls for sour cream (which I actually try to avoid those recipes) I usually put in way less than it calls for. I got this from the epicurious website.

Here's the original recipe:

1 store-bought whole roasted chicken

1 cup favorite barbecue sauce

1 (16-ounce) container sour cream

1 (4 1/2-ounce) can chopped green chiles

2 cups frozen corn, thawed

1 small red onion, diced

1 clove garlic, peeled, crushed, and minced

1 cup shredded smoked Gouda cheese

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chile powder

1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

24 flour tortillas

1 cup vegetable oil, for frying

In a large bowl, debone the chicken and shred the meat. Add the barbecue sauce, sour cream, chopped green chiles, corn, red onion, garlic, both cheeses, and spices. Toss well.

In a large pan over moderate heat, warm 1/4 cup of oil until it sizzles. Meanwhile, put 2 tablespoons of the chicken filling into each tortilla, roll, and secure with a toothpick. Working in 4 batches (wipe the pan clean and add 1/4 cup fresh oil between batches), pan-fry until the tortillas are golden brown and the mixture is warm, about 3 minutes per side. Drain on a paper towel, transfer to a platter (or serve 2 per plate), and serve with your favorite salsa and guacamole.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com:80/recipes/food/views/Chicken-Taquitos-363569#ixzz1mxNzZ3CB

The flavor was soooo good on these. I didn't really make any changes to the recipe. Although I have to point out that it took some skill to fill, roll, and toothpick corn tortillas. The ones I used were frozen and not completely thawed so I took a couple at a time, moistened them and put them in the microwave for a few seconds. That definitely helped. Also, when I make them again I won't fry them in oil like I did (and the recipe says to). My hubby can't stomach a lot of oil (literally) so next time I will maybe coat them in a little oil but then bake them instead of fry. They're definitely worth making! The filling is surprisingly good!

Rachael Ray's Sausage Cacciatore

I saw this recipe when I was visiting my MIL for the holidays a couple years ago. It was in the Rachael Ray Mag and I thought it looked easy, so I gave it a try. It was so easy and tasty, I've made it for some many people...my parents...my In-laws...friends...

Here's the original recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 pound sweet italian sausage links, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3 baking potatoes (about 1 1/4 pounds), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/2 pound mushrooms, quartered
• 1 onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes with italian herbs
• 1/4 bunch, flat-leaf parsley, coasrsely chopped

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees . In a large bowl, toss the sausage, potatoes, mushrooms, onion, garlic and olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a baking sheet and cook, tossing occasionally, for 30 minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes to the sausage and vegetables and stir to coat. Arrange the mixture in an even layer and continue cooking for 30 minutes. Top with the parsley.

Here's some changes that I make:

I don't like mushrooms and don't cook with them--ever. So I omitted the mushrooms altogether. I don't add the flat-lead parsley either. Mostly because I don't ever have it on hand. One of the main changes I make is I use Chorizo instead of Italian Sausage and it brings a better flavor to the dish. Generally I make it with red potatoes because that's what I buy, but I've used Yukon Gold and Fingerling and they work just fine too. That's about it. The only complaint I have is the cook time...it takes about 1 hour to cook...but it's so worth it. I seriously love it. Definitely a keeper!

Broccoli and Cheese Soup

I have a confession...I hate cheese...all cheeses. I don't like the taste or texture of almost all cheeses. Before I got married I always wondered how my husband would live with the fact that I will not cook with cheese...but like so many things in married, I compromised. I now force myself to try every cheese I come in contact with...and the verdict is I can stomach mozzarella, ricotta, parmesan, and (for the sake of this recipe) velveeta. But please note I will not eat any of these cheeses on their own, they have to be cooked in something.

Ok, so this recipe comes from a Cooking Light cookbook. I have made it several times and LOVED it! In fact, I don't bother try anyone else's Broccoli and Cheese soup because I'm more than satisfied with this version.

Here is the original recipe:

• Cooking spray
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1 (16-ounce) package broccoli florets
• 2 1/2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 8 ounces light processed cheese, cubed (such as Velveeta Light)

1. Heat a large nonstick saucepan coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; saute 3 minutes or until tender. Add broth and broccoli. Bring broccoli mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium; cook 10 minutes.
2. Combine milk and flour, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Add milk mixture to broccoli mixture. Cook 5 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Stir in pepper. Remove from heat; add cheese, stirring until cheese melts.
3. Place one-third of the soup in a blender or food processor, and process until smooth. Return pureed soup mixture to pan.

Here are my changes:

Instead of cooking spray I used Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Only about 2 teaspoons. I use about 1 1/2 cups of onions--at least. (I love onions). I only use fresh broccoli. I used frozen once and it just wasn't as good--not even close. I put in about 3 bushels and don't really use the stems at all. I add maybe a 1/4 more cheese than it calls for, but everything else I keep the same. I may end up adding a little more chicken broth, depending on how it looks and how much broccoli I'm using. Lastly, I put in about 3/4 of the soup into a blender to process it.

This recipe is totally a keeper! I can't even count the number of times I've made this!

Getting Started

This blog is for everyone--but mostly me. I'm hoping that this internet idea is here to stay so that years from now I can search this blog and find recipes that I used to make. And hopefully, if I'm really lucky and faithful it will contain current recipes that I've been making throughout the years. Mostly, I want and need to write down all the recipes I try--as soon as I try them. I make tons of different things all the time, but then forget about them. Then I get stuck in a rut of what-to-make and I'm clear out of ideas. So, maybe this blog will help me to remember the things that I've made, any changes I made to the recipes, and maybe make them again.